Stoker



July 24, 1934.

w. T. HANNA 1,967,241

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Patented July 24, 1934 STOKER I William Thompson Hanna, Cincinnati, Ohio Application July 27, 1928, Serial No. 295,727

7 Claims (01. 110-401) This invention relates to stokers in general, but more particularly to stokers for use on locomotives.

An object of the invention is to provide a stoker in which the mechanism that elevates the coal from below the deck is of such a character that it will not become inoperative from the lodgment of any foreign matter which mayhappen to be in the coal, such as a track spike for instance.

Another object of the invention is to provide an elevating mechanism which comprises a plurality of elevating members of relatively'small area, arranged side by side within a single conduit, thus'giving a substantial width to the hous-.

l ing relative to the width of the fire door opening, at the same time giving a narrow cross-section of the housing front to back.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stoker with fuel distributing mechanism which may be adjusted so as to direct a preponderant amount of fuel toward the right or the left of the firing hole, as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stoker that will convey the coal from atrough W beneath the coal hopper in the tender to a point on the locomotive and thereon positively elevate it from below the deck to the entrance of the fire-box. I

Another object of the invention is to provide 30 a stoker. which feeds the fuel through av firing opening, and which is so arranged as to permit a clear observation of the condition of the fire and to permit unobstructed use of the firing rake or hook, or the shovel, for adding quantities of fuel, if necessary, without displacing or interfering with the functioning of any of the stoker mechanism. I

A further object of the invention is to pro-- vide a stoker of this character which is compact 40 in design and of sturdy construction, thus econ-- omizing space. and insuring long vlife; (also, one

which comprises a, number jot. parts of flsimple design, and therefore can be tured at low cost.

- These and other apparent objects ,and advantagesare attained by. thesmeans described in the icllowing specifications and disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein, i

Fig. 1 shows a vertical sectional view of a 1 stoker embodying this invention taken substan-" tially on a longitudinal center line.

Fig; 2 is a rear elevation of the same, partly inisection, taken substantially on a line 2- 2,

1 mm: v E J manufac Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same, partly in section, taken on a line 3-3, Fig. 1.

Fig. iis a vertical longitudinal section showing an application of this character of stoker to a locomotive.

- Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the conduit portion of the fuel supply-housing, taken substantially on a line 5-5, Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the said conduit portion, showing a modification of the inner contour.

0n the drawings, Fig. 1' shows the back head of a locomotive fire-box, having the usual firing opening 2. Embracing said'opening and rigidly mounted on he outer face of the back head, is a fuel sup& ly housing 3, which has a distributing chamber 3-a and an elevating conduit portion 3-]: communicating with said distributing chamber and having a receiving opening in the form of a chambered extension 3-'c which encompasses the delivery end of the conveyor 4 rotatably supported in a cylindrical conduit 5, and having operating engagement with a horizontal conveyor 6 (Figure 4) suitably supllfl t d for rotation in a fuel trough '1 on the tender 8. 'The said conveyor 6 carries a gear 9 through which'it is driven by a shaft 10, suitably mounted for rotation on the frame'of the trough 7 and carrying a gear (not shown) which engages the gear 9. The shaft 10 has operative engagement with a power device such as a steam motor, or other source of motive power ll-through suitable driving connections as, for example, the te1 escopic shaft 12, which is ordinarily connected at one end to the main drive shaft of the power 'deviceby means of a universal joint 12a such as shown and similarlyconnected at its other end to the shaft 10. The conveyor 4 and itsconduit .5, I the conveyor-6 and trough 7, and

the constructionand operation thereof together -withthe operating ,mechanism therefor are all off well-knownconstruction, and do not enter primarily finto this invention except in so, far

.-as1the. elements of these. features are combined wlthfthe novel features of this invention.

The, i cusing t has a delivery opening 3-41 arranged substantially coincident with the firing opening 3, and in theoppo'site wall of said housing insubstantial alignment with thevopenings 3 d, an opening M, whichis embraced by a convent iormjof fire doorplate 22 having an opening wh'icll serves as a vfl t-seiner opening, and uponl'which plate may be, mounted the usual sutcmatiicflrerlwr (n sh wnll such 1 as, for enanimle, the Frankiin butterfly type." The W lower side of the delivery opening 3-d is represented by a portion of the housing 3 which constitutes in effect a ledge extending across the firing opening 2, and serves as a sort of a spillway for the fuel as it leaves the distribution chamber.

.The conduit portion 3 b of the fuel-supply housing 3 has mounted therein an elevating devicewhich receives the fuel as it is delivered by the conveyor 4 and serves to elevate the same above the deck and into the distributing cham ber 3a. This elevating device may be of any suitable character, but in this instance I have provided a duplex arrangement of elevating elements in the form of spiral conveyors 13 and 14, which are suitably journaled in a cap plate 15, forming a closure. for the lower end of the conduit 3-b. In this instance I have shown the said conveyors arranged with their axes parallel and as being rotated in opposite directions, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, but it should be understood that if desired the direction of rotation may be the reverse of that shown. These conveyors are preferably arranged equi-distant oneach side of the longitudinal center line of the said housing and spaced apart so as to provide a desirable minimum space between their peripheries. As shown in Fig. 5, one-half the diameter of each of the conveyors is circumferentially encompassed by the wall of the conduit, whereas in the modified form as shown in Fig. 6, the inner contour of the conduit 63b corresponding to the conduit 3b is of such a character as to encompass more than half of the circumference of each conveyor, so as to constitute in effect two interconnected passages within a single conduit, but in either case the construction shown is of such a character as to eliminate the possibility of foreign matter becoming caught, and thus interfering with the operation of the elevating device. Another advantage of this form of elevating deviceisthat the housing may be thus made materially wider from right to left, thus approximating the normal width of the firing opening, and also that it can be materially narrower front to back than would otherwise be the case if only a single elevating member of sufllcient capacity were used.

The hub portion of each of the elevating con-. veyors 13 and 14 is preferably made of smaller diameter at the delivery end than at the rev ceiving end, so as to discourage a tendency for the coal to become packed or clogged as it is passed along by the said conveyors. The con veyors 13 and 14 are operatively connected at their lower ends with rotating-shafts of the power device 11, the connections being in the form of universal joints, as shown.

Within the distributing chamber 3,- 1, and posltioned adjacent the delivery end of the conveyors 13 and 14, I have provided a distributing device which may be of. any suitable character, either normally stationary or normally movable, but in this instance I have shown such a device in the form of a distributing vane 115 which is pivotally supported in the walls of the housing by means of the shaft 16, to which the said vane is secured. The vane 115 is normally stationary but arranged for radial adjustment'by means of a controlling lever 17 secured to the outer end of said shaft. The lever 17 is equipped with a retaining device comprising the index plunger 13 this manner the vane 115 may be adjusted radially so as to control the direction of movement of the fuel being delivered by the conveyors 13 and 14, either uniformly to the right and left or with a preponderance of volume to one side or the other as desired.

Also arranged within the chamber 3-a is a deflector 20 in the form of a hinged plate, which is pivotally supported on pins 21 anchored in the walls of the housing 3. This plate ordinarily rests upon the upper surface of the coal preliminarily to its passage over the ledge 3-1, and serves to direct fuel toward the delivery opening and to assist in the proper lateral distribution thereof. Immediately that the fuel has passed over the so-called spillway it flows upon and over a blast chamber 23 which is positioned inside the firing opening directly below the ledge 3-j. The said blast chamber is provided with arms 23a and 23b, by means of which it is supported in the side walls of the housing 3 through pipe sections 24 and 25 anchored respectively in thesaid arms. Said pipe sections are coupled to the high pressure steam line 26 and the low pressure steam line 27 respectively through unions 28 and 29 and the steam therein is controlled by means of valves 30 and 31. r

Immediately below the blast chamber 23 is a distributor plate 32, normally stationary but slidably mounted for adjustment. This distributor plate is of a design which serves to scatter the fuel in an effective manner particularly as regards the distribution thereof to the back corners of the fire-box, which are supplied mainly through the agency of the channels 32'-a.

The construction, the mounting and the functioning of the blast chamber 23 and the distributor plate 32 are the same as described in my "co-pending application, Serial No. 286,222, filed June 18, 1928, and reference is made to said application for the detailed description thereof;

The power device, or steam motor, 11, by means of which the conveying and elevating mechanism is operated, may be of any suitable character, but I have. here shown a power device like that disclosed in my U. S. Patent 1,577,462, in which the primary transmission element comprises a rack and pinion such as the rack 33 and the pinion 34, and it is this form of primary transmission element that I prefer to have embodied in the power device for operating a stoker of the character described herein, but it will be understood that other forms of transmission elements may be used' effectively. However, the power device of whatever character preferably should be provided with a control lever such as the lever 35, and arranged to be indexed into various radial positions, such as, for example, one position for rotating the conveyors 13 and14 in the direction shown herein, another position for reverse motion thereof and still another position for stopping rotation of the said conveyors. Also there should be provided a control lever such as the lever 36 for starting and stopping rotation of the conveyor-6.

The operation of this mechanism comprises the reception of the coal by trough 7 beneath the deck of the tender and its transfer therefrom forward toward and to the locomotive by the rotation of the conveyor 6 and also the conveyor 4, the latl ter delivering the fuel into the receiving portion of the housing 3, whereupon due to the action of the conveyors 13 and 14, the fuel is elevated into the distributing chamber 3a, and. its further above the level of the fire by flowing over the ledge 3-f and subsequently falling upon and flowing over the blast chamber, which again tends to further distribute it and prepare for its reception by the distributor plate, from which it is scattered over the fire by means of the blasts from the blast chamber.

While I have shown and described a particular construction embodying this invention as applied to a locomotive, it is to be understood that the same is for the purpose of illustration only and that I am not limited to the detailed features thereof, as it is obvious that the construction may be variously modified and altered without in any manner departing from the spirit and scope of the Invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a stoker, a fuel-supply housing having a receiving opening and a delivery opening and comprising a conduit arranged approximately vertically intermediate said openings, a plurality of screw elements mounted side by side for rotary motion within said conduit and arranged to convey fuel in a substantially single column from said receiving opening toward said delivery opening, and a guide vane positioned within said housing between said elements and said delivery opening, and said guide vane being adjustable to control the lateral distribution of the fuel to the delivery opening.

2. Ina stoker, a fuel-supply housing having a receiving opening and a delivery opening and comprising a conduit arranged approximately vertically intermediate said openings, a plurality of screw elements mounted side by side for rotary motion within said conduit and arranged to convey fuel in a single column from said receiving opening toward said delivery opening, a normally stationary but adjustable guide vane positioned within said housing between said elements and said delivery opening, a device for retaining said guide vane in adjusted position, a deflector plate positioned within said housing adjacent said delivery opening and arranged to direct the fuel toward said delivery opening.

3. In a stoker mechanism, in combination, a horizontal conduit for transferring fuel from the tender forwardly to the locomotive, a fuel-supply housing comprising an approximately vertical conduit arranged to receive the fuel from said horizontal conduit and to deliver the same into a distribution chamber within said housing, means comprising a plurality of screw-like elements mounted for rotary motion within said vertical conduit and arranged substantially side by side to elevate the fuel to said distribution chamber, and a distributing device within said chamber whereby the lateral distribution of the fuel may be controlled.

4. In a stoker, a fuel supply housing having a receiving opening and a delivery opening above said receiving opening and at the other end of said housing, an approximately vertical conduit connecting said openings and having a pair of intercommunicating passages arranged substantially side by side, a rotary conveyor in each of said passages, an adjustable guiding vane in said housing in front of the upper ends' of said conveyors and mounted to swing about an axis substantially midway between the axes of said conveyors to deflect the fuel laterally within said housing, and means for actuating said conveyors.

5. In a stoker system, a fire box having a firing opening, a fuel supply housing operatively associated with said opening including a conduit arranged approximately vertically, and having a receiving opening; a pair of approximately parallel rotatable screws located side by side within said conduit for elevating fuel from said receiving opening to said firing opening, said screws being rotated in opposite directions, and. being arranged substantially equidistant from the longitudinal center line of said conduit.

6. In a stoker mechanism for a fire box having a firing opening, a fuel supply housing operatively associated with said firing opening andineluding a conduit for elevating fuel from a source of fuel to said housing; an adjustable guiding vane mounted in said housing and having a free end extending downwardly into the conduit against the advance of the fuel up through the conduit, said guide vane being adjustable to control the lateral distribution of fuel to the delivery opening; and a free swinging deflecting vane mounted in said housing above said guide vane, said deflecting vane projecting across said conduit and freely resting on top of the rising column of fuel for deflecting the fuel into the firing opening.

'1. In a stoker mechanism for moving fuel from a source of fuel supply to a firing opening of a fire box, fuel distributing means located within said fire box and slightly below a lower edge of said firing opening whereby fuel flowing over said lower edge falls onto said distributing means, a conduit arranged at a substantial angle to the horizontal for conveying fuel up to a point adjacent the lower edge of said firing opening, a plurality of screw conveyers mounted side by side in said conduit for coacting to move fuel in a single continuous mass up to a point adjacent said lower edge and means operatively connected with said conduit for directing the flow of fuel from said conduit over said lower edge in a continuous uniform stream.

WILLIAM THOMPSON HANNA. 

